The F-15C that crashed into the ocean Friday afternoon off Hawaii had just passed the thorough structural inspection USAF instituted for each F-15 A-D model aircraft after the fleet-wide grounding, so officials say they do not believe the problem was structural, reports the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The accident investigation is ongoing, but Brig. Gen. Peter Pawling, commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Wing, said, “The airplane was still in one piece” when the pilot ejected. The pilot, reportedly very experienced in flying fighters, is a member of the 154th Wing’s 199th Fighter Squadron. The unit halted all training flights following the Friday crash, but Pawling expects to resume training later this week, reports the newspaper. The accident investigation could take months.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.